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Aegean argues taxes hamper growth in airline sector

The airline industry is crying foul over government practices that are hampering its growth, with Aegean Air vice chairman Eftychis Vassilakis attributing the stagnation in the carrier’s figures to increased taxes and charges and the poor official response to the migrant crisis.

“Within one year the value-added tax on air transport has jumped from 13 percent to 24 percent, reaching the highest point in Europe, in the very country that needs it to be lower due to its islands,” Vassilakis said on Wednesday, also protesting the high charges at Athens International Airport that have yet to be addressed.

“For the growth of Aegean and other carriers to continue, the errors that reduce competitiveness, either from the distant or the recent past, have to be rectified, otherwise we will have stagnation or even shrinking,” he warned.